Renewal of Active School Flag
I have registered our school for the renewal of the active school flag which we have started since September.
We have so many PE adventures to come and are so lucky to avail of the cream of the crop when it comes to PE instructors and teachers.
Adrian is working with Fundamental movement skills along with hurling and football skills. He makes running, walking, skipping fun and the children are engaged all the time. We have just completed a 6 week Athletics program of work with Emmett and we are currently lucky to have Eoghan from Offaly sports partnership teaching a range of sports from basketball to dodge ball and lots more to come.
Our classes are currently doing the Run around Ireland challenge and are doing Amazing. well done an keep it going.
we are also having a motto competition for children from 2nd to 6th class and these children have an opportunity to become a member of the Active School Flag Committee.
School Plan
All classes in our school are taught all of the six strands of the PE curriculum throughout the academic year. The six strands are: Aquatics, Athletics, Games, Dance, Gymnastics and Outdoor and Adventure. Due to covid 19 we are unsure if our aquatic strand will be completed but we will hopefully teach water safety if we cannot get pool slots.
Our school continues to teach a standardised PE timetable for the school year so that all classes are taught the same strand at the same time. Each teacher has a timetable.
Each class teacher uses the PSSI lesson plans throughout the year to ensure a spiral approach. The PSSI lessons have been made easily accessible for all teachers to use.
Physical Education is allocated 1 hour per week of overall teaching time.
Active School Committee
In December 2021 we set up a new Active Schools Committee.
It is the role of the committee to represent their class at meetings and bring forward new ideas. The committee members have many different types of leadership roles. These include, playground leaders, PE equipment monitor leaders, , yard monitors at breaks to ensure everyone is being active and people are walking while they talk. The committee members are also very good at reminding their teachers to take movement breaks throughout the da. We aim to have a committee meeting once a month and a committee member takes the minutes of these meetings.
Active school committee
Their role is the following:
Active Reward Chart
In our classrooms our teachers use a reward chart to reward the whole class for good behaviour, kindness, doing our best and showing respect. When we have our reward chart filled we get some extra physical activity as a reward thus replacing sweets as tre
Break Times
We have two breaks throughout the school day where the children are encouraged to go outside and play. Three times a week from a Tuesday to a Thursday the playground leaders leave out playground equipment for the children to play with. They really enjoy this.
Break Challenge
In January, every class will partake in Active Break Challenge. Classes will try out different activity breaks including running breaks, dance breaks and exercise breaks. Go Noodle for dance breaks, 10@10 Classroom Movement Breaks, , Bizzy Breaks for Bizzy Minds and Bodies. Some classes went for walks around the school, running or created an exercise box where a child had to choose an exercise at random for the class to complete.
Feel Good Friday
On the last teaching Friday of each month the school takes part in Feel Good Friday. Physical Activity makes you feel good, fact! This initiative encourages the school to take part in a fun, inclusive and energized classroom based activity in a different way each month.
Active School Suggestions Box
To make sure that all pupils had their voices heard we have our Active School Week suggestions folder on the Active Flag notice board in the hallway. Children can write down their ideas on a piece of paper and anonymously post it in the suggestions box. Many of the ideas that the children suggest are planned for our Active School Week.
Active School Notice Board
We have dedicated a notice board in our school hall to the Active School Flag. You can get information here about who is on our committee and ways to keep active. You can also take a look at some photos of what we were up to. We also acknowledge here all the sporting achievements of our wonderful pupils.
Active school motto
The children have been learning on an ASF motto during November 2022
Run, skip, jump and play,
let's get active every day
and just like that
we're fit in Rath
Outside visitors
We had a visit from Michael Delaney on the 25th November to talk about mountain climbing, tent building and outdoor and pursuit and how to survive with a compass. He showed the children how to use a compass and his experience climbing Ireland's highest peak as well as getting to base camp and the dangers which came with it. We can't thank Michael enough for the amazing presentation he did on the day and the teachers and children thoroughly enjoyed it. Mìle Buìochas Michael....
Parents
Parents are a very important part of the Active School process. Parents are kept updated on the Active School process through discussing it with their children, letters home from the Active School committee, the Active School notice board and the Active School page here on the website. The parents here in Scoil Naomh Eoin. play an important role in ensuring their children have the clothes and equipment needed for P.E. and any other physical activities taking place in the school. They also support us in promoting the message that children need to be physically active for sixty minutes per day by bringing their children to after school physical activities, going for walks and cycles with their children and helping them fill out their physical activity diary for school. Our parents also have the opportunity to offer suggestions for Active School initiatives through our parents’ questionnaire, suggestions box, writing a note to a teacher or popping in to have a word with a teacher.
Local Sports Partnership
When we started the Active School Flag process we contacted the Local Sports Partnership and the HSE Health Promotion Officer to inform them of our involvement. They send us regular e-mails to tell us about different physical initiatives, training and courses. Following on from this, Catriona Howell & katherina Ryan attended a course on Well-being through physical activity.
Cycle Right Cycle Training
We were really lucky to receive cycling workshops from Cycle Right Training for a number of weeks in January/February. We learned a lot about staying safe when cycling on the road, the safety equipment that needs to be used when cycling and the correct cycling techniques to use. The training also gave us even more opportunity to be active throughout the day and we had great fun. All children enjoyed the cycle although our roads are very dangerous at our school.
Local Community
We are so lucky here in scoil naomh eoin. that there are many physical activity clubs in Drumcullen and the surrounding areas. During the Active School process we carried out a survey to see what clubs the pupils were involved in. We found out that many children were involved in hurling/camogie /football, ladies’ football, Irish dancing, hip hop dancing, gymnastics, soccer, rugby, swimming and athletics. We got the chance to tell each other about the different clubs and any flyers we get with information about these clubs we send home with the children to show their parents and we stick them up on the notice board. We also have local Rugby , Athletics and GAA coaches who come in to us for one term a year to do training with us.
Physical Activity and Sports Achievements
Acknowledgement and encouragement is just as important in the areas of physical education, activity and sport as it is in all other curricular areas. For any physical activity achievement, be it in school or outside school we encourage our pupils to bring in their trophy, medal and certificate etc. that they achieved and tell their classmates and school about it. We generally have a whole school assembly to acknowledge the win or achievement.
World Cup 2022
Ms Walsh organised a fantastic soccer tournament with 3rd and 4th class and had referees from 5th and 6th class. we plan on making it a regular occurrence to have tournaments for classes in the new year 2023. we aim to include soccer, basketball, hockey and rounders along with GAA also. this is to help promote friendships and fair play and inclusion of all children. The final takes place on Friday 16th December 2022 and we will post pictures of the event.
I have registered our school for the renewal of the active school flag which we have started since September.
We have so many PE adventures to come and are so lucky to avail of the cream of the crop when it comes to PE instructors and teachers.
Adrian is working with Fundamental movement skills along with hurling and football skills. He makes running, walking, skipping fun and the children are engaged all the time. We have just completed a 6 week Athletics program of work with Emmett and we are currently lucky to have Eoghan from Offaly sports partnership teaching a range of sports from basketball to dodge ball and lots more to come.
Our classes are currently doing the Run around Ireland challenge and are doing Amazing. well done an keep it going.
we are also having a motto competition for children from 2nd to 6th class and these children have an opportunity to become a member of the Active School Flag Committee.
School Plan
All classes in our school are taught all of the six strands of the PE curriculum throughout the academic year. The six strands are: Aquatics, Athletics, Games, Dance, Gymnastics and Outdoor and Adventure. Due to covid 19 we are unsure if our aquatic strand will be completed but we will hopefully teach water safety if we cannot get pool slots.
Our school continues to teach a standardised PE timetable for the school year so that all classes are taught the same strand at the same time. Each teacher has a timetable.
Each class teacher uses the PSSI lesson plans throughout the year to ensure a spiral approach. The PSSI lessons have been made easily accessible for all teachers to use.
Physical Education is allocated 1 hour per week of overall teaching time.
Active School Committee
In December 2021 we set up a new Active Schools Committee.
It is the role of the committee to represent their class at meetings and bring forward new ideas. The committee members have many different types of leadership roles. These include, playground leaders, PE equipment monitor leaders, , yard monitors at breaks to ensure everyone is being active and people are walking while they talk. The committee members are also very good at reminding their teachers to take movement breaks throughout the da. We aim to have a committee meeting once a month and a committee member takes the minutes of these meetings.
Active school committee
Their role is the following:
- To check each classroom to ensure children have equipment for lunch time- skipping ropes,bals etc
- To check the teachers, engage in active breaks
- To ensure children are filling out their pe journals
- To check that the classes are completing the walk/run around Ireland
- To complete a PE audit
- To tidy PE equipment
- To report news back to classes
- To help organise a Christmas dash
- To organise a community walk
- To plan the new storage area and help organise
- To help organise playground leaders
- To organise active reward charts for each class
Active Reward Chart
In our classrooms our teachers use a reward chart to reward the whole class for good behaviour, kindness, doing our best and showing respect. When we have our reward chart filled we get some extra physical activity as a reward thus replacing sweets as tre
Break Times
We have two breaks throughout the school day where the children are encouraged to go outside and play. Three times a week from a Tuesday to a Thursday the playground leaders leave out playground equipment for the children to play with. They really enjoy this.
Break Challenge
In January, every class will partake in Active Break Challenge. Classes will try out different activity breaks including running breaks, dance breaks and exercise breaks. Go Noodle for dance breaks, 10@10 Classroom Movement Breaks, , Bizzy Breaks for Bizzy Minds and Bodies. Some classes went for walks around the school, running or created an exercise box where a child had to choose an exercise at random for the class to complete.
Feel Good Friday
On the last teaching Friday of each month the school takes part in Feel Good Friday. Physical Activity makes you feel good, fact! This initiative encourages the school to take part in a fun, inclusive and energized classroom based activity in a different way each month.
Active School Suggestions Box
To make sure that all pupils had their voices heard we have our Active School Week suggestions folder on the Active Flag notice board in the hallway. Children can write down their ideas on a piece of paper and anonymously post it in the suggestions box. Many of the ideas that the children suggest are planned for our Active School Week.
Active School Notice Board
We have dedicated a notice board in our school hall to the Active School Flag. You can get information here about who is on our committee and ways to keep active. You can also take a look at some photos of what we were up to. We also acknowledge here all the sporting achievements of our wonderful pupils.
Active school motto
The children have been learning on an ASF motto during November 2022
Run, skip, jump and play,
let's get active every day
and just like that
we're fit in Rath
Outside visitors
We had a visit from Michael Delaney on the 25th November to talk about mountain climbing, tent building and outdoor and pursuit and how to survive with a compass. He showed the children how to use a compass and his experience climbing Ireland's highest peak as well as getting to base camp and the dangers which came with it. We can't thank Michael enough for the amazing presentation he did on the day and the teachers and children thoroughly enjoyed it. Mìle Buìochas Michael....
Parents
Parents are a very important part of the Active School process. Parents are kept updated on the Active School process through discussing it with their children, letters home from the Active School committee, the Active School notice board and the Active School page here on the website. The parents here in Scoil Naomh Eoin. play an important role in ensuring their children have the clothes and equipment needed for P.E. and any other physical activities taking place in the school. They also support us in promoting the message that children need to be physically active for sixty minutes per day by bringing their children to after school physical activities, going for walks and cycles with their children and helping them fill out their physical activity diary for school. Our parents also have the opportunity to offer suggestions for Active School initiatives through our parents’ questionnaire, suggestions box, writing a note to a teacher or popping in to have a word with a teacher.
Local Sports Partnership
When we started the Active School Flag process we contacted the Local Sports Partnership and the HSE Health Promotion Officer to inform them of our involvement. They send us regular e-mails to tell us about different physical initiatives, training and courses. Following on from this, Catriona Howell & katherina Ryan attended a course on Well-being through physical activity.
Cycle Right Cycle Training
We were really lucky to receive cycling workshops from Cycle Right Training for a number of weeks in January/February. We learned a lot about staying safe when cycling on the road, the safety equipment that needs to be used when cycling and the correct cycling techniques to use. The training also gave us even more opportunity to be active throughout the day and we had great fun. All children enjoyed the cycle although our roads are very dangerous at our school.
Local Community
We are so lucky here in scoil naomh eoin. that there are many physical activity clubs in Drumcullen and the surrounding areas. During the Active School process we carried out a survey to see what clubs the pupils were involved in. We found out that many children were involved in hurling/camogie /football, ladies’ football, Irish dancing, hip hop dancing, gymnastics, soccer, rugby, swimming and athletics. We got the chance to tell each other about the different clubs and any flyers we get with information about these clubs we send home with the children to show their parents and we stick them up on the notice board. We also have local Rugby , Athletics and GAA coaches who come in to us for one term a year to do training with us.
Physical Activity and Sports Achievements
Acknowledgement and encouragement is just as important in the areas of physical education, activity and sport as it is in all other curricular areas. For any physical activity achievement, be it in school or outside school we encourage our pupils to bring in their trophy, medal and certificate etc. that they achieved and tell their classmates and school about it. We generally have a whole school assembly to acknowledge the win or achievement.
World Cup 2022
Ms Walsh organised a fantastic soccer tournament with 3rd and 4th class and had referees from 5th and 6th class. we plan on making it a regular occurrence to have tournaments for classes in the new year 2023. we aim to include soccer, basketball, hockey and rounders along with GAA also. this is to help promote friendships and fair play and inclusion of all children. The final takes place on Friday 16th December 2022 and we will post pictures of the event.